U.S.

Suspicious SUV the latest lead in Texas DA murder

Neighbors of Texas district attorney slain in his home along with his wife reported seeing four men in a suspicious SUV parked down the road from the couple's house, saying it sat there for several days prior to the shooting, CBS News has learned.

Law enforcement officials have been scouring the area around the home of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, examining tire tracks and collecting cigarette butts that lay scattered on the ground.

Those latest developments were first reported by CBS station KTVT in Dallas.

McLelland and his wife Cynthia were gunned down over the weekend, just two months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot in broad daylight after leaving his office. Officials are trying to determine if there is a connection between the murders.

In the days following Hasse's death, Cynthia McLelland told a neighbor she was worried.

"She said, 'You may think I'm crazy. I'm a little psychic ... I think there's gonna be more over the same issues,'" David Crone told CBS News correspondent Anna Werner.

What Cynthia McLelland meant by those "same issues" remains unclear. Investigators have been probing a connection to white supremacists. Tensions have risen among public officials throughout the state, such that a federal prosecutor, alarmed at the possible white supremacist connection, withdrew from a major case involving the Aryan Brotherhood.

The case began last October, with 34 members of the group being indicted on murder and drug trafficking charges. Just two months later, Texas law enforcement officials were warned of possible retaliation.

Richard Ely, an attorney for one of the alleged gang members, said "I understand why someone would want to step back. It makes sense to me, especially people who have families."

That resignation comes as another prosecutor involved in the high-profile Aryan Brotherhood case, Brandi Fernandez, assumes the role of interim district attorney of Kaufman County, replacing McLelland.

According to CBS News senior correspondent John Miller, the investigation into the white supremacist connection has yet to yield any conclusive leads and authorities are looking into more local suspects who might have had a grudge against McLelland and Hasse.